The trench coat is one of those rare pieces whose history deserves to be told. Born in the mud of the First World War trenches, it has crossed the century to become a staple of the elegant wardrobe, worn by men and women alike.
Its origins go back to the 1850s, when Thomas Burberry developed gabardine, a tightly woven cotton fabric that is both breathable and waterproof. But it was in 1914 that the trench coat found its true purpose: British officers needed a functional coat able to withstand the elements while allowing freedom of movement. The garment was designed with precision: epaulettes for rank insignia, D-rings to attach equipment, a storm flap across the chest, a back vent for riding on horseback. Every detail had a function.
After the war, the trench coat did not disappear. It moved from the battlefield to the cinema screen. Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Alain Delon in Le Samouraï — the trench became the costume of magnetic antiheroes, elegant spies and free-spirited women. It embodies a kind of sophisticated nonchalance that cinema made immortal.
Today, the trench coat is a cornerstone of the contemporary wardrobe. It comes in cotton, linen and silk, but it is in cashmere that it finds its highest expression. A cashmere gabardine keeps the practical spirit of the original — protection from the wind, the generous cut cinched with a single gesture — while adding a softness and nobility the officers of 1914 could never have imagined.
Wearing a trench coat today means wearing a century of history. A piece that has known war and peace, military rigor and cinematic insolence, function and form. The trench coat never goes out of style because it does not tell the story of one era: it tells them all.